Fantasy Lover (The Dark Hunterverse1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Hello to all!

                   September is back and it also means that christmas is fast approaching. No need to stress yet but next week is my brother birthday and for that i need to stress because i'm not ready ( yes i'm more reading for Chritsmas than  for next week... go figure)

This summer i participated in my first books trade,  i had gifted books, was gifted some but i never did a book trade first because a lot of them are US only and then i don't have that many books i want / need to part with ( and those i have even new don't seem to be wanted). I was a little stressed too but when i saw on the list 2 books that had me tempted for so long i nearly forgot about them i had to try. Thanks Nyx for making this first experience such a good one!

So i got two books and today i will share my opinion on the first one....to resume i'm really glad i got it but let see why in detail.

Happy reading

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication: 2002

ISBN:  0312979975

Genre: paranormal romance
Violence: mild (few direct one but remembrance of torture)
Language: normal
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: book trade ( Thanks Nyx!!!!)

Description from goodreads :

 Dear Reader,

Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day.

As a love-slave, I know everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and onto the world. She taught me to love again.

But I was not born to love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace--the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse?


Julian of Macedon

My opinion:

          I’m delighted! This book was recommended to me ages ago but I don’t know I was a little afraid because some classified it as erotica and thus I didn’t go all my way to get my hands on it. Such a mistake because this is a fabulous paranormal romance with steamy scenes, yes but not erotica, at least in my opinion.

As you probably have learned by know it’s not the steamy scenes, even really hot ones, that bothers me but more how they are written and the reason of their existence in the story. For me it must make sense and the writing must not sound vulgar.

With Fantasy Lover I found one a story that really had me turning the pages alternating between smiling, laughing out loud or crying a little over sweet, touching moments. The writing style is flowing and easy to get immersed into, the vocabulary just what it needs to be and the space of the story just perfect.

I really enjoyed the mythology part as well as the historical one, it’s not a historical romance don’t worry however Julian is a Spartan from  the antiquity period and as such when the author gives us some element from his life before that takes place in the past yes. To say the least I’m really happy not to have been born a Spartan… I can try to understand why they acted how they did but still it sound too cruel for someone of this time. Julian’s life isn’t one I would feel envious of really he suffered so much that you want him to be free and happy. Yes I said free because not only his life has be more than hard and he suffered a lot then but some deities decided to make it worse and if you had any lessons in Greek mythology you know how devious and cruel those could be….. in this instance Julian was cursed to be a love slave…. Cruel enough when you know he was a proud and powerful general but add to that the fact his slavery is eternal, never ending. The curse made him stuck in a book and women can call him for one month he will have to give her pleasure then back to the book until another encounter which in several millennia can be quite spaced in time.

Even if he has some goddess’ blood in him, Julian isn’t that strong to suffer such a treatment during so long without being deeply affected by it. I appreciate the fact the author really took his psychology into account while building his character because it’s so well done.

Grace also is a great heroine, she is compassionate and strong in her own way. Her life hasn’t been as hard as Julian’s but she is also deeply scared which is the reason her friend Selena offer her Julian’s Book.  After having been deeply used (believe me her ex is one you would want to strangle and see him suffer… really suffer he doesn’t get all he deserves grrrrrrr) , she has been hurt  and she refuse any relationship because of that. She wants the One, the one who will love her and stay not some fling or one night stands. That’s something I appreciated about her and even with Julian at her command she stays true to her value and decide to help him.

Julian’s family was too funny^^ I mean Cupid you imagine the love god as a lot of things but I doubt a biker was the first idea that came to your mind^^. The others gods and goddesses who made an appearance were quite true to what I learned during my Latin lessons and that made them so realistic and funny I couldn’t help smiling or be angry because those can never let you indifferent^^;;

The relationship between Julian and Grace develop during the month they are together which is the kind of relationship I enjoy reading about. As they learn slowly about each other we see how they were destined for each other but even that doesn’t mean they won’t have to fight for it. There was also a little touch of romantic suspense to make us stick in the contemporary part of the story and I really loved how it was done.

Really I’m glad I finally got to read this one thanks to Nyx/ Celine and if the rest of the series is has good I can only want more but even if I have to stop with this one it simply perfect as it . So if you are tempted to discover this one follow your instinct^^

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges: